Subject Name: Johnson, Lacy
Case ID: 06160493
Time: 08/26/06 4:36 a.m.
Arrest Location: 1232 W. Michigan
Arresting Officer: Kenneth Pavan
Arresting Agency: Marion Co. Sheriff’s Department
Offense Location: 6800 Michigan

Arrest charges: Operating Vehicle While Intoxicated, Public Intoxication.

There’s some older stuff there, but I’ll let you check into that Wilson. Pretty interesting. I omitted DoB, but he’d be about 27 years old.

Girlieman Carl didn’t want his thin lips to show?

I’m guessing that even a conviction will not diminish his Council role, and that he will be treated as if nothing happened.

He needs to get a designated driver, and a designated buddy, too…he made an ass out of himself. Most of us have done the same, but he added the “do you know whom I am?” line to his screams on the night in question.

He’ll likely plea down and all will be forgotten.

Long story is below:

On May 4, 2005, police arrested Anderson on Domestic Violence charges. His bond was set at $50,000 surety. On May 9, 2005, a bond review hearing was held in front of Commissioner Danielle Gaughan in Court 16. At that hearing, the Defendant perjured himself, swearing under oath to the Commissioner that he had never failed to appear in court before. This was a blatant lie, as the Defendant had FTA’d numerous times in the last year alone. The prosecutor never brought to the Commissioner’s attention that this was a lie, but the Commissioner had his criminal history in her file and she used to be a Public Defender, so it should have been obvious to her that he was lying. He lied, the prosecutor never mentioned this lie to the commissioner, and the commissioner didn’t call him on his lie. The commissioner even knew about the Defendant’s prior acquittal on a murder case less than 2 years earlier. At this point, the Defendant had been arrested at least 10 times in a 4 year period. The Commissioner specifically said “well this isn’t the worst DV case I’ve heard, so I’m going to OR you.” She never once cited an overcrowded jail or lack of resources. (For you doubting Thomases, go listen to the recording of the hearing . . .very scary). Without hearing any evidence on the case, she decided that Anderson should be free pending trial with no one to make sure he came back to court. No “early release” – no “jail overcrowding” - just a Commissioner who made a horrible decision. Now, MCPO could have filed a perjury charge on the Defendant for his blatant under oath lie at the Bond Review Hearing, but it may have gone nowhere, other than to bring to the attention of the Presiding Judge in Court 16 what a horrible decision his Commissioner had made.

Now here’s where it gets interesting. Just 7 days after Commissioner Gaughan released Anderson, an IPD Officer took a report from a girlfriend of Anderson, who told police that Anderson had come over and threatened to hurt her. Apparently, no one notified the Prosecutor’s Office that Anderson made this threat while he had a pending case. Knowledge of this could have formed the basis for a motion to revoke, thereby pulling him into custody.

Two days later on May 18, 2005, there was a shooting in which Anderson was later identified as the shooter. On May 20, 2005, Anderson was arrested for residential entry and handgun charges in connection with a shooting that occurred that day. On May 24, the prosecutor decided not to file charges in the residential entry / handgun case. While the prosecutor may have needed more time to investigate, he could have filed a Motion To Revoke Bond in Court 16, letting the Judge know that a Defendant who had been OR’d had been arrested on serious charges that needed further investigation. Had MCPO filed that motion and had they called as witnesses the officers on the scene of that handgun arrest, prosecutors could have given the Court 16 Judge the chance to decide that it was too risky to leave Terrance Anderson out on an OR. But MCPO never gave the Judge the chance to make that decision. At least one other homicide occurred after MCPO didn’t file charges on that case.

The bottom line is that throughout May and early June of 2005, when Anderson was out of custody, allegedly killing people (I think he’s been convicted on 1 case and acquitted on another), the Prosecutor’s Office had a number of opportunities to bring to the attention of the Judge in Court 16 (Domestic Violence Court) that this Defendant was dangerous and should not be out of custody with no bond. Had they done that – at least tried to notify the court of the series of investigations pending against Anderson – Brizzi could claim “clean hands.” But he didn’t, so he can’t. Terrance Anderson wasn’t on the street because of jail overcrowding. He was on the street because Commissioner Danielle Gaughan thought that a man who had Failed To Appear in Court at least 8 times, who had previously been accused of murder (although acquitted) and who had a juvenile criminal history deserved to be released without posting any bond. Terrance Anderson remained on the street because MCPO never notified Court 16 of the Defendant’s actions that could have gotten his OR status revoked.

It’s easy to call Terrance Anderson names and to blame the jail for the deaths that may have occurred at his hands. It’s harder to look at the actions of individual Commissioners and prosecutors to ask why more wasn’t done to keep Anderson in custody. Additionally, Anderson’s mere presence on the street speaks volumes to Mr. Brizzi’s tenure. It was his office that lost the murder case against Anderson in 2003. In January of 2005, just 5 months before Anderson’s alleged crime spree, Brizzi’s office dismissed a C felony Battery and Handgun case. I’m sure that there are reasons for the acquittal and the dismissal, but this Defendant would never have been an issue had Brizzi not run around calling Anderson names and blaming jail overcrowding for the deaths. Maybe had Mr. Brizzi spent more time researching his ways to help his dedicated prosecutors do more to hold people like Anderson accountable, rather than thinking up clever sound-bites, he would have just kept his mouth shut and let the system do its job.